The Art Collection

The Spaniard Hernando Cortez, conqueror of Mexico, enters the Aztec temple in 1519. He is welcomed by Emperor Montezuma II, who thought Cortez was a god. The calendar stone and idols are based on sketches that artist Constantino Brumidi made in Mexico City. (1520)

Two different types of covered wagons are shown, along with livestock and a family of settlers cooking a meal over an open fire.

Designed by renowned artist Allyn Cox (1896-1982), three corridors on the first floor of the U.S. Capitol's House wing are elaborately decorated with wall and ceiling murals that include historical scenes, portraits and maps related to the development and growth of the United States.

This statue of Crawford W. Long was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by Georgia in 1926.

Arkansas gave this statue to the National Statuary Hall Collection in 2024. It is sculptor Benjamin Victor's fourth statue to enter the collection, the most of any living artist.

This statue of Daniel Webster was given to the National Statuary Hall Collection by New Hampshire in 1894.

During his tenure as Architect of the Capitol, from 1923 to 1954, David Lynn built the second House and Senate office buildings (now named the Longworth and Dirksen buildings, respectively), the second Library of Congress building (now named the Adams building), and the Supreme Court building.

Tecumseh, a brilliant Indian chief, warrior and orator, is shown being fatally shot by Colonel Johnson at the Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada during the War of 1812. Tecumseh and his followers joined forces with the British to resist the encroachment of settlers on Indian territory. With Tecumseh's death, however, the momentum and power of the Indian confederacy was broken. (1813)